Born and raised in New Orleans, Kristopher Francisco made his way to Silicon Valley through Apple and started a cloud software startup a little over a year and a half ago. Read in our new “People of HanaHaus” blog about his career steps from Louisiana State University to being a successful entrepreneur in the world’s most exciting tech-community.
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Name: Kristopher Francisco
Origin: New Orleans, Louisiana
HanaHaus Visitor since: Spring 2016
Job Title: Founder and CEO
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My Job in Silicon Valley is about…
“…moving companies into the next generation of cloud software as the Founder and CEO of Evolute Inc. My daily business is engaging with partners and customers to enable their cloud infrastructure and working with our development team to architect new software and capabilities. We typically collaborate with companies and help them to integrate cloud platforms into their processes. In the past quarter, we have signed up experts from Intel, Cisco and jet.com for implementing our next release. We kicked off 1.5 years ago, our core team is about 5 core leaders.”
Got to know HanaHaus…
"…was sort of like an Apple product: pockets of innovation tucked in the most unexpected places. I was walking down University Ave and found myself walking past this beautiful courtyard and oasis in downtown. As I backed up, I recognized this center of innovation and interaction. So, I started to come regularly and engage with the HanaHaus community.”
Comes to HanaHaus…
"…for board meetings, ad hoc meetings or engaging with our partners and investors. HanaHaus is located in a central point of interaction and engagement with the core technology areas, centered by Palo Alto. It is a great foundation of how we interact beyond our current offices on Santana Row in San Jose and as we extend into San Francisco. HanaHaus is a strategical point that allows to collaborate with the community in a convenient environment. One of the most important things in the entrepreneurial journey is connecting yourself with the community of people who are thinking about innovation the way that you are. At HanaHaus, you are always surrounded by amazing and innovative people.”
My journey to Silicon Valley started when…
“…I went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for my master degree in Information Technology. This institute is ranked for their master’s program and was one of the core reasons I was able to join Apple in 2014 and be recognized as a leader in Silicon Valley. I got in contact with the company in 2008, when I became an Apple Campus Representative at Louisiana State University during my Bachelor studies. I was able to do presentations, our largest campus event introducing Mac OS X, engage and collaborate with teachers and the student community. Apple flew me up to California and I got the chance to get my first taste of Silicon Valley. This experience set up my perspective where I wanted to go. Nevertheless, I had already signed a contract and started working in the core of technology at Chevron in Houston, Texas; this laid my foundation in technology as an Infrastructure and Applications Analyst after college. That job was an immersion into high performance computing and cloud technology.
After 5 years at Chevron, I was fortunate enough to be brought into Apple’s core research group and finally made it to Silicon Valley. For about 2 years, I was responsible for cloud architecture and research including their latest Black Projects - new products before they are made aware even to other Apple employees - from capabilities enabling the iPhone to new products like Apple Pay being introduced through IOS.”
Started his own business because…
“…I liked to move forward my impact. At some point, you ask yourself: Is it better to stay and contribute a capability to a single company or do I want to bring my knowledge, passion and impact to an entire industry? As a technologist moving to entrepreneurship, sometimes you are masking the craziness of making this level of a transition from high tech to entrepreneurship. There are highs and lows at all times, but you have to have a sense for the strong impact you are bringing, you need a sense of faith and a strong will to innovate no matter what the circumstances are. Sometimes it’s a crazy road, but through being surrounded by energy and innovation at a convenient place like HanaHaus, you’re able to make the change and create the impact.”
HanaHaus is unique because…
“…of the amazing beauty and logic in its design. Everything from the colors to the chair positioning to the area: that’s what I call innovation. I believe where you work influences what you create. If innovation and beauty is around you, you will create innovation and beauty. That’s why HanaHaus is a home for me, it represents my approach to innovation and what I am doing in the space.”
The favorite spot at HanaHaus…
"…is the lounge in front of the Conference Room “Silicon Valley”. I can always see its beauty and everything that is happening in the environment. It allows me to be very aware of my surroundings and the people that I should want to engage with. I really like to connect with people at HanaHaus.”
In 3 words HanaHaus is…
“…beautiful, technical and innovative.”
In our blog series, People of HanaHaus, we present the folks that fill our workspace cafe with life: Start-Uppers, entrepreneurs, artists, founders, innovation managers, students, unicorns, venture capital investors and the people who make HanaHaus unique. We want to learn about their journeys and what brought them to Silicon Valley. We ask them to speak about their current projects and why how they leverage HanaHaus for their business.